The CIC takes the wheel: Medical cannabis driving guidance

In their patient guidance, the Cannabis Industry Council summarise:

“As a patient prescribed with a cannabis medicine, you can possess and take your medicine and continue to drive a motor vehicle, so long as: 

• You are not impaired
• The cannabis medicine has been prescribed to you and this can be evidenced
• You are following the directions provided by your specialist consultant and the instructions given by the manufacturer or distributor of the medicine”

The CIC explain that so long as you can provide sufficient evidence to show that you meet these three criteria, you have a statutory medical defence and should not be arrested. 

If these criteria are met, the CIC advises that you are not breaching the law by having over 2μg/L of THC in your blood, and there should be no further police action warranted. 

Medical cannabis and driving

The release of these guidelines comes several months after the CIC released their Cannabis and Driving report in June 2023. This report established that driving legislations in the UK were not kept up to date, adapted, or amended in any way following the legalisation of medical cannabis back in 2018. 

Many patients are vocal that this is unacceptable, and have swapped to cannabis based treatments from heavy painkillers, or opioid based medications. They argue these medicines also have the ability to influence a person’s driving - but because these medicines have been legal for a long time, they are rarely seen as a cause for concern by the police. 

So long as the driver is not drowsy, officers typically take no further action if they discover a driver has administered conventional medicines. However, unfortunately, not all officers are aware that medical cannabis is legal, and that patients can drive with prescribed cannabis in their system. 

Because of this, over the last five years, there have been countless reports where patients who were in possession of, or had administered, their prescribed cannabis-based medicines have had their rights abused, when they are found to be in charge of a vehicle. 

In an attempt to stop this, as well as producing their patient guideline document, the CIC also created an information pack specifically for law enforcement, explaining the laws and legislations that surround medical cannabis and driving. 

Created by a combination of experts in the CIC’s working groups, BCL Solicitors, leading consultancy firms, and advocacy group Seed Our Future, these documents aim to clarify the current laws and dispel any misconceptions, whilst keeping everybody on the road safe. 

Do not drive impaired

In the UK, it is always a criminal offence to drive whilst impaired, and it is the driver’s responsibility to ensure they are not impaired.

The CIC recommend taking a break from driving if you are altering your medical cannabis dosages until this becomes stabilised, and your body becomes used to the effects of this new quantity or concentration, to avoid any risk of impairment.

It is important that anyone, medical cannabis patient or not, does not drive if they are sleepy, dizzy or poorly coordinated, or if they feel their vision is impaired or their thinking is slower than normal.  

The CIC also emphasise that alcohol and other medications can impair a person's driving ability, and they can also interact with medical cannabis. Therefore, it is crucial to make sure these combinations have not impaired you in any way before getting in the driver’s seat. 

Particular care should be taken by patients using medical cannabis who have developing conditions that have side effects that may increase the risk of impairment, such as experiencing recent marked weight loss.  

It is extremely important to follow these guidelines now they are available. If you are found to be impaired when driving a vehicle, a statutory medical defence cannot be used in your defence, regardless of prescription status. 

If you are found to be impaired, the police officer is required to follow the Police and Criminal Evidence Act and investigate the event as a section 4 offence. This involves a stop and search, detention, arrest, investigation, identification processes, police interviewing and a urine sample. 

Carry evidence of your prescription

When driving, the CIC advise medical cannabis patients to carry a physical or digital copy of their most recent prescription to prove their cannabis has been prescribed to them for a medicinal purpose, by a qualified healthcare professional. 

It is also recommended that medical cannabis patients carry photographic identification, such as a driving licence, and if possible a letter from their prescribing clinician or specialist to confirm they are a legally prescribed patient, just in case they are questioned by the police. 

To help in these circumstances, as a medical cannabis clinic, we provide our patients with their own  Medical Cannabis Card. As well as receiving a paper copy of their prescription with every batch of medication, each Releaf patient is issued with a Medical Cannabis Card, that acts as photo ID and features a unique QR code for law enforcement.   

When scanned, our patient will receive a notification to approve viewing access, and once approved, the police can access the latest copy of the patient's prescription, which explains their medication, its concentration, the quantity prescribed, and their clinicians details. 

In their Patient Guidance: Prescribed Cannabis Medicines and Driving document, the CIC explain that in fact, there is no need to mention that you are prescribed cannabis-based products, unless the police suspect you are under the influence, or impaired in any way. 

If the police do suspect you have consumed cannabis, calmly inform them that you have a medical defence because of your prescription status. This allows you to exceed the THC limit of 2μg/L in the blood when driving, so share your documentation with them to prove this. 

However, the police may still insist on completing roadside tests and swab for THC. Although these preliminary tests are used to identify the presence of illicit drugs, and prescribed medicinal cannabis is a legal-controlled substance, unfortunately this still happens regularly. 

If this does happen, stay calm and do your best to comply fully with their instructions, as failing to do so could lead to further issues, or criminal offences. The police are legally obliged to investigate your medical defence, however, unfortunately this doesn’t often take place immediately at the roadside and so it is best to remain cooperative.

Follow specialist guidelines

The third piece of guidance the CIC expand on is their advice to follow the directions provided by specialist consultants and the instructions given by the manufacturer or distributor of the medicine when administering it. 

To avoid impairment, it is imperative that patients follow the directions relating to dosage quantities and dosing routines that were outlined by their specialist clinician or consultant when taking their prescribed cannabis - especially when driving. 

The CIC also emphasise how important it is that patients speak with their prescribing clinician or clinic about the other prescribed medications they take. This is to ensure that any interactions of these medicines would not lead to impairment or cause side effects that would affect their driving ability.  

As well as following the instructions given by their prescribing doctor, the CIC highlight the importance of also following the guidance given by the medication's manufacturer or distributing pharmacy.

If this guidance is being followed, especially relating to how often the medicine is administered, and in what quantity or concentration, this should be evident in the results of a blood test. 

What to do if you are stopped by the police

The police are legally obliged to investigate your medical defence if they discover you have consumed cannabis and are in charge of a motor vehicle, if you are prescribed cannabis-based drugs to manage a particular health condition. 

If the police insist on completing a roadside intoxication examination or drug test, it is always best to stay calm, cool and follow their instructions.

If, for any reason, you are arrested and taken to a police station to be interviewed under caution, it is vital to request representation from a solicitor. 

Inform your solicitor of your medical defence, and provide any and all information and evidence you have to prove that this is true. 

You may also wish to mention the CIC guidelines available online, so that your solicitor or the police officers handling your case can corroborate the facts using an official source. 

Conclusion

If the advice and guidance in these documents are followed, there will hopefully be far fewer unnecessary interactions between the police and medical cannabis patients

As well as aiming to benefit patients, by making them feel more informed and protected, this guidance will hopefully see a reduction in unnecessary drug tests, court costs, and wasted police time — which would also benefit the public purse. 

Negative interactions with the police can cause an extreme amount of stress, which can often exacerbate health conditions and increase the frequency or the severity of symptoms. 

This can be extremely detrimental to a person's physical and mental health, and so, it is important these unnecessary and often invasive interactions come to an end, especially when they are typically caused by the police misunderstanding medical cannabis laws.

Releaf understands that finding a doctor who is registered to prescribe medical cannabis can be difficult. That's why we offer online consultations with our specialist doctors, as well as a unique medical cannabis card for extra protection and access to the treatment you need. If you're interested in learning more about our services or getting access to medical cannabis treatment, get in touch and one of our team members will be happy to help.